7 relatives die when Jeep is crushed between big rigs

Aug. 16, 2013
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Breaking News / Jerry Mosemak

by USA TODAY

by USA TODAY

Seven family members, including four children, died late Thursday when their Jeep was crushed between two big rigs and burned during a construction backup on I-65 in northwestern Indiana.

The vehicle was so badly mangled and burned that police initially thought only two people were inside, the Indiana State Police said Friday. After the wreckage was hauled away, emergency workers found five other bodies over several hours, the Chicago Tribune reported.

The accident happened about 9:50 p.m. CT in a work zone near Roselawn, Ind., about 70 miles from Chicago. The northbound Jeep Cherokee was stopped behind a Freightliner semi-trailer full of bottled water when a Volvo tractor-trailer hauling food items plowed into it from behind, crushing the Jeep and engulfing it in flames.

The fire also burned the Volvo's cab and parts of both trailers, police said. The accident closed a stretch of the interstate until 6:30 a.m.